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Can Marie Kondo help you save money on your taxes by Tidying Up? (Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage)

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Kondo-mania has swept the nation. It seems viewers can’t get enough of the Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” and watching her help organized-challenged folks clear out their closets, kitchens, garages and anywhere else there may be tons of junk. Remember that saying, “One person’s junk, is another person’s treasure.”

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, watch this clip from the Today Show. A best-selling author with over 11 million books sold, translated into all the major languages around the world, Kondo has become a worldwide organizing sensation. I was surprised to learn that Kondo runs her business from an office within walking distance of my home. Now I really need to get tidying up.

I watched the first episode featuring the Friend family of Lakewood, California. Kondo told her clients to get rid of items that “don’t spark joy.” Following her instructions, this family of four was able to fill trash bag after trash bag of items to donate to charity. Let’s be honest. All of us have items that no longer bring us happiness or joy, and we could all benefit from a little less clutter. But before you throw away everything, it’s important to realize that while some items may not bring you joy now, you could end up unhappy if you don’t have them, when needed, in the future. Think of things like toilet paper or a plunger.

Hopefully, people are giving away their unwanted items rather than just throwing them in trash. It has been reported that thrift stores have seen large increases in donations of peoples’ old stuff. Did you know that you could get a tax deduction for donating gently used clothes to places like Out of the Closet and Goodwill? In fact, some of you could likely slash your tax bills by thousands of dollars. Like anything, there are a few hoops to jump through in order to save all this money.

How Much Stuff Can You Clear Out Of Your House? How big of a tax deduction do you want for donating... [+] to charity? (Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

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IRS Guidelines on Non-Cash Donations

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a taxpayer can deduct the fair market value of clothing, household goods, used furniture, shoes, books and so forth. Fair market value is the price a willing buyer would pay for them. Value usually depends on the condition of the item. By law, a charity cannot tell you what your donated items are worth. This is something you must do yourself.

Obtain a receipt from the charity acknowledging your donation and then assess the "fair market value" for your donations. Keep in mind that if you’re claiming more than $500 in donations, you will need to have an itemized list of what you donated along with the estimated values. If the total value of your donated items is $5,000, or greater, you must also have the charity acknowledge what you donated. Remember, charitable organizations typically can’t and won’t assign value to what you have donated.

You can potentially donate up to one half of your adjusted gross income. Actually, you can donate as much as you want, but you will only get a tax break on donations valued up to one half of your adjusted gross income. It is much easier than you think to rack up $1,000, $2,000, or more, in donations. Cleaning out your house and donating your items could easily save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. How much you save will depend on your other income and related tax brackets.

I like the “It’s Deductible” app from TurboTax®. It’s free and easy to use. Begin by entering some of your tax information, the charitable organization’s information and then you’re able to start listing what you will be donating. The app estimates the value of each item and even does the math for you.

Let’s say you want to donate 10 used books. Open the app, search books and enter the number of books you’ll be donating. Voila! You have a $60-to-$90 donation depending on the condition of the books. That sure seems easier than trying to sell them on eBay. The app has values for almost everything you could imagine, and you may be surprised by how much some items are worth. However, you might also be disappointed by how little others are valued.

Cut Your Tax Bill with donations of unwanted but valuable items to charity.

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During the month of December, run a report of all of the donations you made that year. Match them with your receipts from the charitable organizations to which you donated. Share that information with your tax preparer and then watch your taxes due amount drop. Keep in mind that you will have to be itemizing your tax deductions in order to benefit from your charitable donations.

Donating unwanted items is a win-win-win situation, if you ask me. You get stuff out of the house. You help a nonprofit of your choice and you may get a nice break on your taxes. But don’t go and blow your new-found wealth on more things you don’t actually need.

This is a just a brief overview of some of your options when it comes to non cash donations. For additional information, check out Form 8283 and IRS Publication 526 (Charitable Contributions). Both are viewable on the IRS Website.

David Rae a Certified Financial Planner™ has been helping people make smarter financial decisions since 2003. 3x Investopedia "Most Influential Financial Advisors" Award

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David Rae a Certified Financial Planner™ has been helping people make smarter financial decisions since 2003. 3x Investopedia "Most Influential Financial Advisors" Award Winner. He is the founder of the FinancialPlannerLA.com Blog. Rae is no stranger in front of the camera either, having been interviewed as financial expert for numerous segments from the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, ABC, KTLA, CBS News, Nightline, Fox and Friends, Bravo TV E! News and Comedy Central to name a few. www.davidraefp.com